Show LATESr DODGE OF THEO DURRANT Alleged Confession by a Convict at San Quentin IF TRUE ITWILL CLEAR THE STUDENT LITTLE STOCK HOWEVER IS TAKEN I2T THE STORY Durrants Attorneys Make Elaborate Arguments Before Governor Budd But it i Believed They Will Have Little Weight Alleged Murderer is Merely Petty Thief With an Aptitude for Lying and a Genuine Case of Wheels Sacramento Cal May 14If external exter-nal appearances go for anything Governor Gov-ernor Budd was not favorably impressed im-pressed by the arguments advanced by Durrants attorneys in their plea for executive clemency in behalf of the condemned murderer of Blanche Lament La-ment His counsel reviewed at length the testimony given by all the prosecutions prose-cutions witnesses at the trial endeavoring en-deavoring to discredit the evidence and to show that he had been convicted on insufficient evidence I was also urged that Durrants trial had not been fair that public sentiment had been aroused against him and that the newspapers had so prejudiced Durrants case that had he been found not guilty he would have been lynched The counsel coun-sel declared that had Durrant been tried first for the murder of Minnie Williams the real murderer would have been discovered Absolutely no credence was apparently placed by any one unless un-less by the prisoners attorneys upon the alleged confession of Convict John Rosenberg of San Quentin prison who declared he had murdered Blanche Lament La-ment for 700 at the instigation of a stranger The governor himself investigated investi-gated the statements contained in I Rosenbergs affidavits and Chief of Police I Po-lice Lees of San Francisco also sent the governor the result of his Inquiry the I conclusion deduced being that Rosen berg instead of being Blanche Laments I La-ments murderer is merely a petty thief with an aptitude for lying and a I fondness for eccentricities Instead of at San Quentln the police say he should b In an insane asylum When Saij Francisco a wrought up over the Lamont murder Rosenberg was in Hamburg trying to reach San Francisco Fran-cisco finally coming here in the British ship Hospodar arriving in San Francisco Fran-cisco on Nov 6 1895 six months after the Emanuel church murders Rosen murer berg deserted his ship and S M Wells a rancher says he was the man who talked with Rosenberg on a San Francisco Fran-cisco street but instead of inciting him to murder Wells says he promised the sailor work on his ranch Rosenberg worked on Wells ranch at Fruitvale for four months Hec acted peculiarly and Wells thought him mentally unsound un-sound An investigation will probably be made to ascertain is possible what led to Rosenbergs alleged confession He was committed to San Quentin on April 17 1879 ten days after Durrant arrived there The prison register shows that he has vaccination marks on the left forearm and ink snots on the thumb These samp marks are set forth in the prison record in the description de-scription of Durrant The height of the two men is nearly the same and Rosenbergs weight is set down at 145 pounds and Durrants 140 |